This invention relates to an improved fluid transfer mechanism and method for easily transferring and replacing fluids.
A wide variety of both manual and automatically driven transfer mechanisms have been known in the art for quite some time. As long as vehicles, in particular the automobile, have existed it has been critically important to their smooth operation and continued functioning that the various fluids used to lubricate and motivate the vehicle be replaced regularly. To change fluids in automobiles, for example, a number of activities are required all of which involved special tools, knowledge and skills. In many cases it is required to lift the automobile up or to crawl underneath it in order to reach the necessary points in the engine compartment for the particular fluid involved. For example, changing the motor oil, in the conventional manner, requires that the automobile be lifted up so that the drain plug can be reached in the bottom of the oil pan. After the oil has been drained out, the plug is replaced and the automobile is lowered down and the new oil is replaced through the conventional opening at the valve cover on top of the engine by pouring the oil into the top of the engine. Because of this, most individuals do not attempt to change the motor oil themselves.
Another fluid that is regularly changed, is the radiator fluid in a vehicle. This fluid is generally changed seasonally. Once again it requires knowledge of where the inlet and outlet plugs on the radiator are located and the proper equipment to make the change easily. Additionally, as with the motor oil, and in particular with radiator fluid that may contain antifreeze, there is an ecological problem with the waste. That is, it is easy to open the radiator plug and simply let the radiator fluid drain out. In this day and age however, this procedure is less and less acceptable and, in fact, illegal in some places. As a result, there is a need for a simple automated device that individuals can use that enables them to change the fluids in their vehicle without requiring expensive assistance from a trained mechanic. Further, there is a need for a device that changes more than one fluid and a device that enables the operator to not only make the changes himself or herself, but enables him or her to easily transfer and collect the used or old fluids in safe containers so that they are not spilled or introduced into the environment unwittingly.
Perhaps the closest device, known to this inventor, is the Burrell et al. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,282,380 which utilizes an electrically powered motor to power a reversible pump for the purpose of providing an automatic oil changer. The device further includes a permanently mounted rotatable bracket in the engine compartment for use in holding an oil receptacle for receiving spent oil or an oil container for introducing new oil. Further, an electric interlock safety feature is connected to the operation of the ignition key that prevents draining the crank case oil while the engine is running. Other devices require fabrication of special parts for connection to not only the engine compartment, but the oil filter. See, for example, the Tilley patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,854.
A drawback to these, and other electrically powered oil changing devices known in the art is that, in addition to the requirement for the fabrication of specialized parts, once these parts are connected to the vehicle the operator's use of the oil changing device is limited to that particular purpose. That is, none of the devices known in the prior art are either designed for, or have suggested, the use of their oil changing devices for the use and the transfer and removal of additional fluids such as motor oil, transmission fluid, engine coolant, water and power steering hydraulic fluid, for example. Thus, there is a need in the art for providing a fluid transfer mechanism that facilitates the work of changing all automobile fluids in vehicles, not simply oil, and that eliminates most of the difficulties encountered when draining the fluid out and pouring the new one back in. It, therefore, is an object of this invention to provide an improved fluid transfer system for vehicles for the transfer of fluids, such as oil, water, hydraulic fluid, etc., and for providing a mechanism and method for doing this, that is inexpensive and easy to use.